Maharashtra, Jharkhand election results: NDA seeks dominance, INDIA bloc eyes comeback

The counting of votes for Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections will take place on Saturday, determining the outcome of the gruelling poll battle this month.

In Maharashtra, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance is seeking to retain power. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi is seeking a comeback.

On the other hand, the BJP-led NDA is eyeing a victory in Jharkhand, the state created under its rule in 2000. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance is confident of a victory in the state.

Maharashtra

On November 20, Maharashtra witnessed a 66.05 per cent turnout, up against 61 per cent in the assembly elections held five years ago.

“Election Commission of India gave a lot of focus, attention and time for Maharashtra this time. Each and every strategy was conceptualised and implemented with high precision. This resulted in a huge number of addition in the voter list also between the Parliament election and the current election,” chief electoral officer S Chockalingam was quoted by ANI as saying.

In the Mahayuti alliance, the BJP is contesting 148 seats followed by Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena at 80 and Ajit Pawar-led NCP at 52. There are six more seats where Mahayuti candidates are in the fray.

In the Maha Vikas Aghadi, Congress is contesting 102 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) 96 seats and NCP (SP) 86 seats. Two seats are being contested by Samajwadi Party and two seats by smaller MVA allies.

Most exit polls predicted Mahayuti's victory with some suggesting that it is a tight race between the two alliances.

In the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the undivided Shiv Sena bagged 56.

Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena parted ways with the NDA over the issue of rotational chief minister.

The Sena joined hands with undivided NCP which won 54 seats and Congress with 44 MLAs to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Less than three years later, Eknath Shinde rebelled along with 39 other MLAs, reducing the MVA government to minority. Thackeray resigned ahead of the trust vote and Shinde was sworn in as CM on June 30, 2022.

In February 2023, the Election Commission recognised Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena.

NCP also suffered a split with Ajit Pawar joining the ruling alliance as Deputy Chief Minister in July last year.

His uncle Sharad Pawar, who now heads NCP(SP), kept a tight campaign and has been keen to see that there is no dent to his long legacy in politics.

A lot is at stake for Congress in the Maharashtra assembly polls after the party lost the Haryana elections.

Jharkhand

Jharkhand recorded a voter turnout of a record 67.74 per cent, the highest since the formation of the state on November 15, 2000.

Most exit polls have predicted a BJP-led NDA win in the eastern state, but Axis My India has projected a massive victory for JMM-Congress combine.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren contested from Barhait, his wife Kalpana from Gandey, while the Leader of Opposition Amar Kumar Bauri (BJP) contested from Chandankiyari.

The NDA has attacked the JMM-led coalition over corruption and infiltration, criticising ruling party leaders, including the chief minister, who is out on bail.

The ruling dispensation, on the other hand, wooed voters with promises of welfare schemes and accusing the BJP-led Centre for "unleashing" the ED and CBI against rival parties.

(With PTI, ANI inputs)